Excerpt

It is always interesting to ask people the name of the tree from which Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Pastors and lay people, theologians and children cannot remember. Some say it was an apple tree. The more informed say it is the Tree of Knowledge. Few people can quickly recall that this tree is called, The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2: 9). In other words, the Garden of Eden story begins with God telling Adam not to eat of a tree that would give him the knowledge of good and evil. The story appears to say that our moral sense our knowledge of good and evil is a consequence of eating fruit from this tree, and that God did not want us to have this moral sense! This should give us pause. Most people think that the purpose of religion is to give people a moral sense. Children are sent to church and Sunday School so that they can know the difference between good and evil. Knowing such things is deemed a positive accomplishment. The Garden of Eden story, however, seems to be saying that the knowledge of good and evil is a consequence of the first sin. The knowledge of good and evil is not a positive accomplishment. It is a negative feature of human life. No wonder we refuse to remember the name of this tree. It undermines the long established relationship between religion and morality. It is in the interest of this relationship that we forget the trees name.

Nevertheless, this story suggests that because Adam and Eve ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, humanity must interpret everything in terms of good and bad, better and best, worse or worst. If a person is in a grocery store selecting meat, he or she tries to determine which meat is the best meat to buy. If someone is voting for President, he or she often tries to determine which candidate is the lesser of two evils. The Garden of Eden story suggests that there is no instance in human life where we do not make choices based on our knowledge of good and evil. Normally, this moral sense is deemed an important advance. The fascinating claim of the Garden of Eden story is that our moral sense is the consequence of sin. It is not the remedy for sin that we believe it is. (This excerpt was from chapter 1).

If the theory that the human race gradually changed from partnership ways to a dominator system from the years 8000 BC to 1300 BC is accepted, a new reason for divine intervention emerges. The old reason is well known. It states that the reason that God chose this time to intervene is because humanity reached a stage of development advanced enough to appreciate a conversation with God. Before this time, we were too immature. After this time, some human beings were developed enough to understand what God was doing. This view implies that Moses or Abraham were in some respect better men than those who lived before them, and that is why God was revealed to them. This theological theory has dangerous social consequences. It implies that the called or elected ones are on the crest of history. Accordingly, they are more advanced than others. This belief sparked the attempted genocide of native populations when the chosen Christians from Europe came to the Americas. If one ethnic group thinks it is chosen by God because it is the superior group, that theology can justify almost any attack on people who are not chose, hence, inferior. This is the dark side of being chosen by God. It is also how this idea of election functions within the dominator system.

If, however, the movement from partnership ways to the dominator system was a negative rather than positive development, then Moses was not chosen because he represented the best of humanity. Moses was chosen because the situation had become so bad that God had to take drastic action. One might say that life was going along pretty well before the dominator model came into existence, but a very powerful force in opposition to life emerged with the dominator system. When the dominator system achieved supremacy (around 1300 BC), God chose to intervene. This is what was happening in the Bible! It is also another way to understand why Moses and others have been chosen.

Viewed within the context of the struggle between the dominator system and partnership ways, the Biblical God does not choose someone because that person or group represents the zenith of human progress. The Biblical God chooses people to work on behalf of life and against the dominator system. The Biblical God does not choose a person to be Biblically orthodox. The Biblical God chooses people to remind others about life and living. We have forgotten these things because the dominator system has taken over Christianity. (This excerpt is from chapter 2).

Pauls alleged encounter with the crucified Messiah created one of the most profound and far reaching intellectual dilemmas in the history of religion. Paul clearly believed that he had encountered the crucified and risen Jesus. He was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel as a result. He also knew that the Torah cursed someone who was crucified. In short, Paul believed that the Messiah of God died cursed by God according to the Law (Torah) of God. To put it mildly, Paul had to make certain intellectual adjustments. (This excerpt is from chapter 6).